Mariners trade Sucre to Rays

SEATTLE -- Jesus Sucre, a 28-year-old catcher who played in 90 games over the past four years with the Mariners, was traded Wednesday to the Rays for a player to be named or cash.

The trade is the 13th this offseason by Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto and 38th in the 16 months since he took over Seattle's front office, the most in the Majors in that span.

SEATTLE -- Jesus Sucre, a 28-year-old catcher who played in 90 games over the past four years with the Mariners, was traded Wednesday to the Rays for a player to be named or cash.

The trade is the 13th this offseason by Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto and 38th in the 16 months since he took over Seattle's front office, the most in the Majors in that span.

Sucre hit .480 (12-for-25) in nine games with Seattle last year after working back from a broken leg, but he carries a career .209/.246/.276 line in 264 plate appearances from 2013-16 with the Mariners.

In addition to some timely hits last year, Sucre caught Hisashi Iwakuma's no-hitter against the Orioles in 2015.

The Venezuela native is out of Minor League options, but cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma last Wednesday after being designated for assignment on Jan. 26. With Sucre's status uncertain at that time, the Mariners claimed Tuffy Gosewisch from the Braves to fill a similar third-catcher role with the club heading into Spring Training.

Gosewisch has a Minor League option remaining and thus can be moved between Tacoma and Seattle without being exposed to waivers. The 33-year-old has a career line of .199/.237/.286 in 126 games with the D-backs over the last four years.

The Mariners are expected to go with Mike Zunino and veteran Carlos Ruiz as their primary catchers. They also have invited five catchers who aren't on their 40-man roster to camp, including Minor League returnees Steve Baron, Marcus Littlewood and Tyler Marlette.

They've also signed two Minor League free agents -- Sebastian Valle, a 26-year-old who played Double-A ball for the Yankees last year, and Nevin Ashley, a 32-year-old who played in Triple-A for the Mets and Rangers in 2016. Ashley has 12 games of Major League experience with the Brewers in '15.

Mariners pitchers and catchers report to camp in Peoria, Ariz., next Tuesday.